You and Me
by winterhearts
Summary: Temari was a down-on-her-luck, aspiring actress. Shikamaru was a genius with a girlfriend and an annoying horde of fangirls. One night, they found each other, and their lives were changed. AU ShikaTema story currently on hiatus


You & Me--a ShikaTema story

Naruto, cats, and a laptop computer are all things I do not own. Naruto belongs to the wonderful Masashi Kishimoto-san.

Note: Since it's an AU story, a bit of Shikamaru and Temari's backgrounds have been altered.

Enjoy chapter 1! And don't forget to take advantage of the blue button at the bottom of the page. His name is Button-chan. Button-chan needs to be pressed!

"Don't quit your day job."

That was the third time Temari had heard that phrase today, and it was quickly getting annoying. The sandy-haired kunoichi was trying to find an acting job in Konoha, but nobody would hire her. Every agent claimed that Temari "wasn't the kind of girl they were looking for". What did they know? Temari was good looking. She didn't have the blond hair or the chest that Ino Yamanaka had, but she was still beautiful!

Right?

"This day sucks," Temari grumbled as she headed back to the dinky, fourth-floor apartment that she shared with Gaara, her younger brother. Gaara had a good-paying job in downtown Konoha, thanks to his father. Temari, however, had to find work on her own. She knew it was because her father liked Gaara best. Her father resented Temari because she had no interest in the family business of antiques.

_As if I want to spend the rest of my life dealing with old stuff,_Temari said to herself. _Boring! I don't know why or how Mama put up with it._

Mama. She was the only one in Temari's entire family (besides Gaara) who supported her dream of becoming an actress. Mama encouraged Temari, even when she'd come home complaining about the agent of the day who'd turned her down. Temari's mother always told her to keep strong and never, ever give up.

_How can I_ not _give up? _Temari wondered. _I'm always getting turned down for my looks or my personality. What am I going to do? Gaara will always be able to pay his rent, but what about me? If I can't help pa for rent, I'll have to find somewhere else to live, and I am _not_ going back home._

It was nearly eleven P.M., and Temari was cold, tired, and hungry. She didn't think she could make the next couple of blocks to her apartment. She felt like she could fall asleep right on the street.

Temari saw a bench next to a bus stop sign that looked suitable. After brushing off a few napkins, she laid down on the bench, using old _Konoha Daily_ newspapers as her blankets. The bench was the most comfortable place to sleep, but it would have to do for now.

"Gaara," Temari suddenly said. "I have to call him and tell him I won't be coming home tonight."

Before Temari could get out her cell phone, her eyes began to droop. She was exhausted.

_I'll call him in the morning, _Temari decided. With that thought crossed off of her list, the Sand Village ninja drifted off to sleep.

"This day sucks," Shikamaru Nara grumbled. It had been a tough day for him today. He'd lost his wallet, his parents had gotten into yet another fight, and Ino Yamanaka kept trying to flirt with her. Shikamaru thought the blond-haired beauty of the famous Yamanka clan was very annoying. Didn't she know that he already had a girlfriend? Plus, even if Shikamaru was single, he still wouldn't go out with Ino. She tried too hard to impress males, with her skanky, low-cut tops and all of that makeup.

But there was one silver lining in Shika's ("Shika" was the nickname that only close family and friends called him) dark, dreary day: his girlfriend, Hinata Hyuuga. She was always kind and considerate of him, even when he was in a crappy mood. Today, she'd sent him a text message telling him to "keep on smiling". Shikamaru would certainly try to do so.

The odd thing about Shika and Hinata's relationship was that it didn't really start off as a relationship. Shikamaru had the idea of pretending to have a girlfriend to ward off annoying fangirls, and Hinata's name was the first name that came to mind. Eventually, the two bonded over their love of reading, and began to genuinely fall in love. Now, Shikamaru couldn't imagine how his life would be without Hinata. She was totally different from the strong and bossy women in his life (Ino and her friend Sakura, and Shikamaru's mother, for example).

Shikamaru was about to head home when he noticed an odd sight: a woman asleep on a park bench. Konoha was a well-to-do city, so you wouldn't find many people on park benches. Shikamaru's growing curiosity led him to the park bench, where he proceeded to try and wake up the woman.

"Ma'am. Hey, ma'am. Wake up," Shikamaru loudly whispered.

The woman tossed and turned, but finally, she did wake up. Her eyes were small and brown, almost like a baby deer's. She had sandy blond hair in spiky pigtails, and pale--almost peachy-looking--skin. She wasn't a delicate beauty, like Hinata, but she wasn't too bad to look at, either.

The blond woman took a few seconds to acknowledge Shikamaru's presence before responding.

"Who the hell are you, and why did you wake me up? I was sleeping!" the woman snapped.

Shikamaru sighed. It looked like this woman was going to be impossible, just like Ino.

"I was just wondering why you chose to sleep on a park bench," Shikamaru replied casually.

The woman threw off some newspaper pages and sat up. "I was too tired to make it home, okay? Now, is that all you want from me, or can I go back to sleep?"

"If you need a place to stay, my place isn't too far from here. Only a block away," Shikamaru offered. "I feel bad just leaving you on this park bench."

The woman looked surprised that Shikamaru offered to help her out. "Thank y--Hey, wait a minute! You just want to get lucky tonight, don't ya? Well, I'm not sleeping with you, got that? Try anything on me, and I'll knock you all the way to the Sound Village!" She balled up her fists to show that she meant business.

Shikamaru gulped. This woman could certainly look intimidating!

"I'm not going to try anything with you. I just met you. Besides, I have a girlfriend," Shikamaru replied with a chuckle. "So, are you still up for the offer."

The woman shrugged. "Guess so. I'm Temari Suna."

Temari. Huh. That was a pretty name...sort of. "Shikamaru Nara," Shikamaru said, extending his hand for a shake.

Temari shook her head. "I don't shake hands with members of the opposite gender."

Shikamaru shrugged. "If you say so." He noticed something brown in Temari's pant pocket. "Hey, what's that?"

Temari took out the brown object. "This cool wallet I found. I'm gonna dump the crap that's in there and put my own money in there--when I get money, that is."

Shikamaru gasped. "That's _my_ wallet!"

Temari stared at the wallet. "It is?" She looked at the driver's license. It belonged to Shikamaru Nara. Oops.

Shikamaru was starting to have second thoughts about inviting Temari over. "You stole my wallet!"

Temari scoffed. She'd done some things in her day, but she'd never, ever stolen! "Wait a minute, Nara. I did not _steal _your wallet. I found it lying on the ground. You should take better care of your stuff."

Shikamaru realized that the wallet did drop out of his pocket, but he didn't want to give Temari the satisfaction of being right. "Just give me my wallet."

"What's wrong with you? You were cool until I brought up your dumb wallet."

"Hey! My mother gave me that wallet."

"Which explains why your baby picture is in there. Adorable. And who's that black-haired girl in the photo I saw? Your sister?"

"That's my _girlfriend_, for your information. Now, give me my wallet. You shouldn't have taken it."

"I gave it to the police station, but when I came back, nobody claimed it."

"How could I claim the wallet when I never knew it was there?"

"You're supposed to go to the police station for lost items, baka."

Shikamaru sighed. Temari was right (again). Why didn't he go to the police station? He really was a baka for not doing that.

Temari thrust the wallet at Shikamaru's chest. "Here's your wallet, Nara. I'm outta here. I wouldn't want to be tempted to steal any more of your personal items."

She got off of the bench and started to walk off.

Shikamaru looked at his wallet, and carefully tucked it back into his pocket. Maybe he shouldn't have been so harsh to Temari, since she hadn't stolen the wallet. He wanted to thank her.

"TEMARI! Temari, wait!" Shikamaru called out.

When Temari saw Shikamaru coming, she ran faster. Shikamaru also ran faster. The two continued their game of cat-and-mouse until Temari tripped.

"TEMARI!" Shika shouted out. "You okay?"

Temari had on her perfectly sculpted look of anger, although it was obvious that she was struggling to hold back tears. "Do I _look _okay, Nara? My ankle hurts...it really hurts," she replied.

Shikamaru knelt down and put an arm around Temari. "Oi, Temari. You shouldn't have ran so fast. Who's the baka now?"

"Shut up," Temari replied, although she was now smiling. Shikamaru noted that Temari had a beautiful smile. He wondered if she smiled often.

"You can't possibly make it to your house now. Just come stay the night at my place. We can get you to a doctor in the morning," Shikamaru told Temari. He hoisted Temari up and slung her over his shoulder. She was a bit heavy, but Shikamaru would manage.

"Thanks, Nara. You'd make a good doctor, you know," Temari said.

"Really?" Shikamaru answered. He'd never even considered being a medic nin.

"Yeah. You're good at caring for people. I'm not. I push people away," Temari responded.

"I'm sure you don't," Shikamaru said.

"I do. My father started ignoring me at an early age, and since then, I've pushed people away. Now, I have no friends except for my mama and my little brother, Gaara. I'm pathetic."

Shikamaru shook his head. "You're not. If you were pathetic, you wouldn't have the nerve to talk to me or even run away from me. You're a little annoying, but you're also pretty strong."

Temari chuckled. "Thanks, Nara."

"You're welcome. So, when do we go on a first-name basis?"

"When I get to know you better, Nara."

"All right, Suna."

"It's Temari."

"Why?"

"I don't like to be called Suna."

"Well, I don't like to be called Nara."

"It's either Temari or _nothing_."

Shikamaru sighed. Yup, Temari was an impossible woman. But not so impossible as to be completely troublesome. "Fine, Temari it is."

Temari smirked. "Good."

Shikamaru wasn't sure how much longer he'd be with Temari, but he hoped that she wouldn't vanish out of his life as soon as the night was over. Aside from Hinata, Temari was the only girl that Shikamaru actually liked.

Temari wouldn't admit it, but she liked being carried around by Nara. It was nice to have a man besides Gaara that you could count on to protect you.

_I was stupid for running so fast without paying attention to where I was going,_Temari chastised herself. _But then again, if I hadn't fallen, I wouldn't still be with Nara, now, would I?_

Nara wasn't like most of the boys Temari had known: always goofing off and chasing girls, never interested in reading. That was pathetic.

"Hey, Nara?" Temari asked. She wanted to know if Nara was a reader, too.

"Yeah?"

"Have you read Kafka?"

"Of course. I loved _The Castle_."

Temari smiled. That was her favorite book by Kafka.

I guess this day doesn't suck after all, she thought with a grin. Nara was causing her smile, something she didn't do often. That meant that Nara was good for her.

Too bad he has a girlfriend.

**So, how'd you like the chapter? I enjoyed writing the dialogue between Shikamaru and Temari. I made them both book-lovers because: 1. Shikamaru's a genius, so I think he should have a great love of books and 2. so the two of them can have interesting, intellectual discussions. But I apologize if either Shikamaru or Temari seem a wee bit out of character.**

**Don't forget Button-chan! He wants you to press him and make reviews NOW!**

**Chapter 2 is coming soon!**


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